Chapter 3

The Prince was as good a horseman as he promised and continued to comfort Liona throughout the half-hour journey to the castle. As they rode, the scenery around her took Liona aback. It appeared very much like what she imagined medieval England would be like. There were no roads, only dirt paths. The trees that surrounded the path were large and ancient looking, giving Liona an odd sense of mystery and awe.
“You are from Karel?” Oliver asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
Liona struggled with how to respond. “Um, yes. Sort of.”
“Were you exiled?”
Liona thought for a moment, once again trying to ignore the soft gallop of the horse she wished she wasn’t riding. “Well, yes. I guess you could say that.”
“I am sorry, Liona. I should think you do not like to speak of it.”
Liona nodded slowly. “So have you met many Karelians?”
“No,” The Prince admitted. “You live very far away, and my grandfather cut off relations with Karel when they began an oppressive regime. Mondel has always been a peaceful Kingdom, we do not like to associate with Kingdoms who oppress their people. Certainly you know this, though.”
“Oh, yes.” Liona said, trying to figure out a way to learn more without letting on she knew nothing. “Most of us don’t even know what’s going on anymore…”
The Prince nodded. “I should think not. From what we’ve learned over the last years the royal family keeps slaves and exterminates those who are not able to pay their taxes, which only goes to keep up the lavish lifestyle of the King.”
Liona’s jaw dropped. She didn’t realize she had pledged citizenship to such an awful group of people.
“I-I’m glad to learn Mondel is a peaceful place. I didn’t know the King did that.”
“Yes, we do not commit such acts. We do not believe in slaves and we do not tax our poor.”
Liona could only nod before she was lost in her own thoughts again. Just an hour before she had been in her room, playing with a magic kit she thought was ridiculous. Inwardly scolding herself, she ignored the wave of fear that swept over her. At least she hadn’t ended up in Karel.
And yet she wanted this. She practically asked for it. Liona suddenly felt rejuvenated as she realized she was finally in the fairytale she had always dreamed of. This was her chance to experience the impossible. This was what she had always wanted.
Yet the only thing she could think about was her own world. She thought of Foster and Kali, and what they would think of her disappearance. She thought of her parents, and her school. There was a whole other world she belonged to, but she was stuck in another.
When they finally made it to the castle, Liona was quickly pulled out of her thoughts to admire the amazing architecture surrounding her. It was literally something out of a dream. High arches and stained glass windows reminded her of the Catholic church Foster had once dragged her to. It was much more elaborate, however, completely covered in golden accents and marble finishes. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life.
“Come, let me bring you to my father.” Oliver said, motioning for her to follow. “I believe he is in the court.”
Oliver led her to a set of large doors, and once they entered Liona was immediately reminded of every T.V show she’d ever seen where King’s thrones were involved. There was a large and gaudy throne that stood out from two others right beside it. Only one throne was occupied, however, and that was by the King Mondel, surrounded by servants and what Liona assumed could only be advisors and scholars. King Mondel was an old man with gray hair, but he had a very warm look about him. Liona tried to contain herself as Oliver led her into the court.
“Oliver! Good to see you home so soon, son.” The King said, smiling at them. “And who is this young lady you have with you?”
Oliver smiled back at his father. “Sire, I introduce Liona Knight, exiled from the Kingdom of Karel.”
Suddenly the advisors and scholars took interest. There were about seven of them dressed in different colored robes. Some pretended to go about their business, but a few blatantly turned to look at Liona.
“Poor child.” The King said, nodding at his son. “Tell me what has happened to you, Lady. How were you exiled?”
Liona’s heart nearly stopped in her chest. She was hoping no one would ask that question. She was a terrible liar and knew that if she tried to make anything up she would end up making an idiot of herself.
“Well…” She said, her brain scrambling. Quickly, one of her favorite fairytales came to mind. “Well, Sire, I was—I was exiled by my step-mother. She, um, she thought that I was prettier than she was because she was a little psychotic, and so she tried to kill me. But I got away.”
The King nodded sympathetically. “But how did you come so far, child?”
“I ran into the forest where I met seven--” Liona stopped herself at the word ‘dwarves’ and realized she didn’t know if they existed in this world.
“Seven men.” She finished. “So anyway, they said they would protect me, but then my step mother tried to poison me with an apple in disguise.”
Suddenly Liona stopped, realizing the rest of the story didn’t fit her situation well. “Then I died and some guy kissed me to wake me up. That will go over well. What’s another fairytale I know? Pinocchio?” She thought, inspired by her already elaborate lie. From what had already happened to her she was surprised her nose hadn’t grown any longer.
“You see, then I had to run away again, and I ran into a traveler who told me he would help me, but he kidnapped me and put me into this traveling slave camp…”
Frantically, she realized this was also a dead end story. “And then they turned us into donkey’s and my dad got swallowed by a whale? What am I doing? I’m a real boy, King, I’m a real boy!”
“But I had a narrow escape and then found myself here.” She finished lamely, realizing the entire room had become very silent
The King blinked several times before answering, and Liona panicked. Had he seen right through her?
“What a terrible adventure you have been through!” The King exclaimed, finally. “I should say you will not have to endure such trials here!”
Liona let out the breath she’d been holding and nodded nervously. “Yes, Sire, the Prince here was telling me about that. I am so thankful for your kindness to me so far.”
“Well, Lady, I’m afraid that we operate much differently from the Kingdom of Karel. However, refugees of any kind are more than welcome in my Kingdom. Can I offer you a position as my daughter’s maiden? I am afraid her last maiden has married and gone to live with her husband in the Loden Kingdom.”
Liona’s eyes widened. “Of course! Thank you so much, Sire, you are very hospitable.”
“Don’t be silly, child.” The King said, smiling warmly at her. “I will have Oliver take you to the Princess. I must continue to attend to matters of the court.”
Relieved, Liona left with Oliver, who smiled broadly at her when they were alone.
“You seem to come from an interesting culture.” He said, leading her through a maze of hallways.
She smiled weakly. “You have no idea.”
“Are you feeling okay?” He asked, looking closely at her. “You seem to be a little distressed.”
Pushing her fears to the side, she tried to put on a convincing face. “I’ll be fine, thank you. I’ve just been through quite a bit lately.”
“Certainly you have.” Oliver said, nodding slowly. “Come, this is Adara’s chamber. She will be back from her lessons soon. In the mean time make yourself comfortable. I will see you soon, Liona.”
He motioned her towards a large door, and Liona took a moment to look at Oliver. “Thank you, Sire. Your kindness means a lot to me.”
Smiling, he bowed his head and said. “Call me Oliver.”

* * * * *

When she was alone, Liona’s mind began scrambling. Where was she? How had she gotten there? What was she supposed to do? Was there a way home?
So many questions and yet no answers. All she knew was that this world was almost literally out of a storybook. The way everyone dressed, they way they spoke—everything was just like her dreams and fantasies. They were also much too nice, and Liona couldn’t help but wonder whether she had either fallen into a sort of Utopia or that perhaps something was on the verge of happening. She had read too many stories to believe that everything would stay as peachy as they currently were.
“Is your name Liona?” She heard a voice say from behind her.
Liona jumped and turned around to face what she was sure was the Princess. A girl of perhaps eighteen or nineteen stood in front of her, smiling warmly. Smugly, Liona noted that she looked exactly like a princess out of a fairytale. With dark hair and dark eyes, she was dressed in a crimson gown that accentuated her thin physique. Princess Adara was absolutely gorgeous.
“Call me Lilly.” Liona said, smiling back at her. “Are you the Princess?”
Adara made a face. “Oh, don’t call me that. Addie works perfectly fine.”
Liona raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like being called Princess?”
“Certainly not.” Adara said, walking to a nearby sofa. She motioned for Liona to sit down beside her and she obeyed.
“You don’t like being a princess?” Liona asked, in sudden awe over the girl right out of a storybook.
Adara shook her head solemnly. “No. Lilly, you don’t understand, it’s just awful. I can’t to anything that I want to.”
“But you get pretty dresses and you get to live here.” Liona said, looking around the giant room. “Are you unhappy because you feel like you’re trapped in royal life or something?”
Adara’s eyes lit up very suddenly. “Yes! Lilly, you understand. Did you feel much the same way in Karel?”
Suddenly feeling like a psychologist, Liona only shook her head. “Well, not exactly. But I think I can understand, how you’re expected to act a certain way and how you can feel trapped by that. Do you have an arranged marriage too?”
Adara nodded. “You’re practically an elder! How did you become so good at reading people?”
Silently, Liona noted the hundreds of fantasy books she’d read in her lifetime, but she only smiled. “Oh, I suppose I’ve just learned a lot on my…journey.”
The princess only smiled. “I have heard about that. Father tells me you’ve been through some terrible trials.”
Liona nodded. “You could say that.”
“Oh, Lilly, I do envy your adventures. Will you promise to tell me of them soon?”
Smiling, Liona only smiled. “Sure, Addie.”
And as the two girls sat smiling at one another, they both knew it would be the beginning of a unique, but beautiful friendship.